Hawaii commission revokes charter for Big Island school

Hawaii News

Jul 11, 2018

HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii Public Charter School Commission has revoked a charter contract for a Big Island school after finding nearly two dozen violations.

The commission revoked the charter contract Monday for Ka’u Learning Academy for violations that included financial and operational irregularities, enrollment discrepancies, and failure to properly maintain student and employee records.

The Naalehu school opened in 2015, serving 3rd- through 7th-grade students. It expected to have more than 90 students enrolled next school year.

The school will be shut down immediately, but it has 21 days to appeal to the state Board of Education.

School executive director Josh DeWeerd told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald that the commission’s decision was “unfortunate for our families and community,” and school officials have “diligently worked and rectified all deficiencies.”